SUBCHAPTER IV
Perjury and Related Crimes of Falsification
SECTIONS
§ 522. Perjury.
§ 523. False swearing in official matters.
§ 524. Unsworn falsification to authorities.
§ 525. Limitations on prosecutions of perjury and related offenses.
§ 526. Tampering with witnesses and informants.
§ 527. Retaliation against witness or informant.
§ 528. Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
§ 529. Tampering with public records or information.
§ 530. Impersonating a public servant.
Editor's note: Former chapter 5 of this title on Offenses Against Public Administration was repealed in its entirety by PL 11-72 § 1. This new chapter 5 was enacted by PL 11-72 § 30 and is part of the Revised Criminal Code Act.
§ 522. Perjury.
(1) A person commits the crime of perjury if, in any official proceeding, he or she makes a false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation, or swears or affirms the truth of a statement previously made, when the statement is material and he or she does not believe it to be true.
(2) Falsification is material, regardless of the admissibility of the statement under rules of evidence, if it could have affected the course or outcome of the proceeding. It is no defense that the declarant mistakenly believed the falsification immaterial.
(3) A person convicted of perjury shall be punished by not more than five years imprisonment.
Source: PL 11-72 § 56.
§ 523. False swearing in official matters.
(1) A person commits the crime of false swearing if:
(a) he or she makes a false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation, or swears or affirms the truth of such a statement previously made, when he or she does not believe the statement to be true, and:
(i) the falsification occurs in an official proceeding;
(ii) the falsification is intended to mislead a public servant in performing his or her official function; or
(b) he or she makes a false statement under oath or equivalent affirmation, or swears or affirms the truth of such a statement previously made, when he or she does not believe the statement to be true and the statement is one which is required by statute or regulation of the Federated States of Micronesia to be sworn or affirmed before a notary or other person authorized to administer oaths.
(2) A person convicted of false swearing shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
Source: PL 11-72 § 57.
§ 524. Unsworn falsification to authorities.
(1) A person commits the crime of falsification if, with purpose to mislead a public servant in performing his or her official function, he or she:
(a) makes any written false statement which he or she does not believe to be true;
(b) purposely creates a false impression in a written application for any pecuniary or other benefit, by omitting information necessary to prevent statements therein from being misleading;
(c) submits or invites reliance on any writing which he or she knows to be forged, altered, or otherwise lacking in authenticity; or
(d) submits or invites reliance on any sample, specimen, map, boundary mark, or other object which he or she knows to be false.
(2) A person commits the crime of falsification if he or she makes a written false statement which he or she does not believe to be true, on or pursuant to a form bearing notice, authorized by statute or regulation of the Federated States of Micronesia, to the effect that false statements made therein are punishable.
(3) A person convicted under this section shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
Source: PL 11-72 § 58.
Case annotations: To be criminally liable under 11 F.S.M.C. 524(1)(c) it is enough that the accused invite reliance on any writing which he knows to be lacking in authenticity. The statute does not require that he himself make the writing that is lacking in authenticity. FSM v. Sorim, 17 FSM R. 515, 522 (Chk. 2011).
When the offense alleged in the U.S. indictment is false use of a passport, and when, in the FSM, a person commits the crime of tampering with public records under 11 F.S.M.C. 529 if he makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing knowing it to be false, and with the purpose that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records that are received or kept by a public servant or required to be kept by anyone for the government’s information, and under 11 F.S.M.C. 524, a person commits the crime of falsification if, with purpose to mislead a public servant in performing his or her official function, he or she submits or invites reliance on any writing which he or she knows to be forged, altered, or otherwise lacking in authenticity, these two FSM statutes proscribe the conduct charged, and the requirement of dual criminality is satisfied. In re Extradition of Benny Law Boon Leng, 13 FSM R. 370, 373-74 (Yap 2005).
§ 525. Limitations on prosecutions of perjury and related offenses.
The following limitations apply to prosecutions under sections 521, 522 and 523 of this chapter:
(1) It is not a defense that the oath or affirmation was administered or taken in an irregular manner or that the declarant was not competent to make the statement. A document purporting to be made upon oath or affirmation at any time when the defendant presents it as being so verified shall be deemed to have been duly sworn or affirmed.
(2) No person shall be guilty of a crime if he or she retracted the falsification in the course of the proceeding in which it was made before it became manifest that the falsification was or would be exposed and before the falsification substantially affected the proceeding.
(3) Where the defendant made inconsistent statements under oath or equivalent affirmation, both having been made within the period of the statute of limitations, the prosecution may proceed by setting forth the inconsistent statements in a single count alleging in the alternative that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant. In such case, it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to prove which statement was false but only that one or the other was false and not believed by the defendant to be true.
(4) No person shall be convicted of a crime where proof of falsity rests solely upon contradiction by testimony of a single person other than the defendant.
Source: PL 11-72 § 59.
§ 526. Tampering with witnesses and informants.
(1) A person commits a crime if, believing that an official proceeding or investigation is pending or about to be instituted, he or she:
(a) attempts to induce or otherwise cause a witness or informant to:
(i) testify or inform falsely;
(ii) withhold any testimony, information, document, or thing;
(iii) elude legal process summoning him to testify or supply evidence;
(iv) absent himself from any proceeding or investigation to which he or she has been legally summoned; or
(b) being a witness or informant, solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit in consideration of his or her doing any of the things specified in subsection (1)(a) of this section.
(2) A person convicted under this section shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
Source: PL 11-72 § 60.
Cross-reference: The statutory provisions on the Judiciary and the FSM Supreme Court are found in title 4 of this code.
§ 527. Retaliation against witness or informant.
(1) A person commits a crime if he or she harms another by any unlawful act in retaliation for anything lawfully done in that other person’s capacity of witness or informant.
(2) A person convicted under this section shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
Source: PL 11-72 § 61.
§ 528. Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
(1) A person commits a crime if, believing that an official proceeding or investigation is pending or about to be instituted, he or she:
(a) alters, destroys, conceals, or removes any record, document, or thing with the purpose to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding or investigation; or
(b) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing knowing it to be false and with the purpose to mislead a public servant who is or may be engaged in such proceeding or investigation.
(2) A person convicted under this section shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.
Source: PL 11-72 § 62.
§ 529. Tampering with public records or information.
(1) A person commits a crime if he or she:
(a) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, any record, document, or thing received or kept by a public servant, or belonging to the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia for information or record, or required by statute or regulation of the Federated States of Micronesia to be kept by anyone for information of the Government;
(b) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing knowing it to be false, and with the purpose that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection; or
(c) purposely and unlawfully destroys, conceals, removes, or otherwise impairs the verity or availability of any such record, document, or thing.
(2) A person convicted under this section shall be punished:
(a) by imprisonment for not more than five years if the defendant’s purpose was to defraud or injure anyone;
(b) otherwise, by imprisonment for not more than one year.
Source: PL 11-72 § 63.
Cross-reference: The statutory provisions on the President and the Executive are found in title 2 of this code. The statutory provisions on the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia are found in title 3 of this code. The statutory provisions on the FSM Supreme Court and the Judiciary are found in title 4 of this code.
Case annotations: When the information alleges that the accused presented checks to merchants knowing that those checks were false documents, those factual allegations, supported by affidavit, establish probable cause that the accused violated 11 F.S.M.C. 529(1)(b). FSM v. Sorim, 17 FSM R. 515, 522 (Chk. 2011).
A conspiracy count is sufficient if it alleges an agreement, and identifies the object towards which the agreement is directed and an overt act. But it is not necessary that the information state the object of the agreement with the detail required of an information charging the substantive offense, and it is not necessary in a conspiracy charge to allege with precision all the elements essential to the offense which is the object of a conspiracy; allegations clearly identifying the offense the defendants conspired to commit are sufficient. FSM v. Sorim, 17 FSM R. 515, 523 (Chk. 2011).
When the offense alleged in the U.S. indictment is false use of a passport, and when, in the FSM, a person commits the crime of tampering with public records under 11 F.S.M.C. 529 if he makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing knowing it to be false, and with the purpose that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records that are received or kept by a public servant or required to be kept by anyone for the government’s information, and under 11 F.S.M.C. 524, a person commits the crime of falsification if, with purpose to mislead a public servant in performing his or her official function, he or she submits or invites reliance on any writing which he or she knows to be forged, altered, or otherwise lacking in authenticity, these two FSM statutes proscribe the conduct charged, and the requirement of dual criminality is satisfied. In re Extradition of Benny Law Boon Leng, 13 FSM R. 370, 373-74 (Yap 2005).
§ 530. Impersonating a public servant.
(1) A person commits a crime if he or she falsely pretends to be a public servant with the purpose to induce another to submit to such pretended official authority or otherwise to act in reliance upon that pretense to his or her prejudice.
(2) A person convicted under this section shall be imprisoned for not more than one year.